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Babelgum to showcase Spirit Awards content
MUMBAI: Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has announced a partnership that brings a curated selection from the 24-year archive of the Spirit Awards to a global audience via Babelgum‘s online video platform and its free application for Apple‘s iPhone & iPod Touch and Google‘s Android devices.
This also marks the first time that a premier awards show will be making archival content and red-carpet footage available exclusively through mobile smartphone devices.
Film Independent executive director Dawn Hudson says, “We are so excited that Babelgum has taken on the enormous task of helping us share these funny and touching moments with film lovers all over the world. There are countless hours of footage that no one has seen, as well as clips that will stir up fun Spirit Award memories for those in the independent film community.”
The 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards take place on 5 March in downtown Los Angeles.
Over 140 clips dating back to 1986 are available through the Spirit Awards channel at www.spiritawards.com and at www.babelgum.com/spiritawards and via the Babelgum mobile phone apps www.babelgum.com/mobile. The historical footage is divided into entertaining categories so that fans and press can easily find and share their favourite moments.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards was the first event to honour independent film exclusively.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
